a REAL kid

Jared(11) and Jarom(5) were just wrestling and playing with their nerf sword and shield. Jared lays down on the floor and says "hang on Jarom, I need to take a break...I'm wheezing". Jarom gives him 5 seconds, sighs, and then frustratingly says "get up Jared!! and play like a REAL kid would!!"
It was priceless.

the whole family

Last night, I was feeling a bit tired by 9:30. So I shut off the lights, locked the doors and went to bed. I decided to make my rounds though and make sure all of the chitlins were snug in their beds. I checked on Justin...who has the only room downstairs...and sound asleep he was. As I made my way upstairs into Stephs room, then Jareds, then Jaroms I came to the harsh realization...this WHOLE family snores!!

The worst day of my life!

My son Jared, who's 9 years old, often tells me he's bored. If his little buddies aren't home or simply can't come out and play he pouts and with much attitude says "This is the worst day of my life!!" I was talking to Tate's mother recently and she commented on how Tate says that same thing. If he calls our house and Jared can't play it is "the worst day of his life!" Or if he isn't allowed to play something it's "the worst day of his life!!". I figure it must be a 9 year old thing and they'll get over it. Today I took my baby girl to bookstore days at the JR HIGH!! Yeah, that's right, I said JR HIGH!! Isn't that horrible? I mean, this is my only daughter!! She was supposed to stay 2 or 3 forever!! When did she grow up? And furthermore, how do I stop this?! We got her schedule, PE clothes, etc... And when we walked out of there and she handed me her student ID, it hit me that my baby girl was my baby no more. And I knew exactly what Jared and Tate mean...This is the worst day of my life!!

wind and clouds

It's monsoon season here in Arizona. I love the storms we get...especially the windstorms. Man, when that wind blows it sounds fierce!! My kids say it's scary but I think it's quite pleasant. So today I'm sitting in the living room listening to the wind and watching this (my trees in the backyard)... when Jared (the 9 year old) comes running in. Out of breath and frantically calling my name (Mom) he yells, "Mawwwwm!!! You have to get out here quick!!" A little panic'd I say "Whats the matter Jared" as I get up and frantically head for the front door (thinking someone outside is hurt). "You HAVE to see this cloud Mom!! It's AWEsome!!" "Cloud? Did you just say cloud Jared? I thought someone was hurt!" "Oh...Sorry Mom, but you really have to see this cloud...and bring your camera". So I grab my camera and head back to the front door...all the while rolling my eyes and thinking "I can't believe I got up for a cloud". But when I went outside and followed the direction in which his finger was pointing (just above the Ridds house) I was awestruck. His excitement was definitely justified.

3 amigos...and 2

If anything in life is guaranteed, it is that Jared will always be with Tate or Tyler. He is with Tate a little more than with Tyler but that's only because Tate lives on the same street and Tyler is not always over here in our neck of the woods. But when they are together, they are all so cute. They remind me of the Junior version of these three...who are also always together. And these 3 live on the same street so when I say always I mean ALWAYS!!

Steph, on the other hand, does better in two's.

But that's alright, we'll take that one day at a time!!

Have I mentioned

Steph had a few friends over today to hang out in the pool. While out there, they decided to make up a dance, among other things.

They had a blast!! By the way, have I mentioned...Jared walks on water!!

and he can also scratch his toe while diving...

AH HAH....WHAT CAN YOUR KIDS DO?

Look where I rank

The other day I was going thru some old cards that have been given to me and I ran across this..more than a baseball!! Beat that!!

Only in Phoenix!!

Only in Phoenix can your kids go swimming in February!!

This is how they and some other kids from our ward spent their Saturday!! Is that crazy or what?! So Sunday, I had them jump into our pool and get some rocks from the bottom of the pool. hmmmm, wonder where those came from?

I've done my part!!

So I was going thru some pics on my computer this evening and decided that I have given birth to one of THE CUTEST kids in the world!!

Then I found this and thought "okay 2 of the cutest kids in the world"Wait...there's a 3rd!! Could it be??? More than 3!!
Surprise!! There's 5...
Yep...I've definitely done my part in making Arizona beautiful. Any objections?

We found another reason to party...Jared turned 9!!

We celebrated Jared's 9th birthday last night. Apparently, this made Tate and Remmy very happy!! It gave me a reason to stuff some cake in my mouth!!

And my father in a law a reason to stuff some ice cream in his.My mother in law (one of them) pondered all night...

As Steve pondered with her...okay, maybe they were just posing. But we thought it was funny.
The rest of the gang succomed to peer pressure and ate like pigs! This is Steph wondering how she got stuck surrounded by a bunch of boys and some really immature adults.

Here's Joseph, our neighbor boy, who probably went home and told his parents we were freaks because we were all acting so silly...he didn't want to take his picture but after I threatened him, he gave into my demands!! He loved it though!! "I'm having fun" is written all over his face!

The birthday boy (Jared)...such a Wright!!

His older brother...what a freak!! (guess it runs in the family)

But the real party animals could care less about the food...they were too busy jammin' out on Guitar Hero!!
Good Times!! Good Times!!